DATE : 24 January 2011 TOPIC : PROVINCIAL COORDINATORS CONSOLIDATE D SBA REPORTS FOR 2010 FOR GRADE 12 TO : DISTRICT DIRECTORS

CES : CURRICULUM DISTRICT FET CURRICULUM COORDINATORS

DISTRICT SUBJECT ADVISORS PRINCIPALS OF SCHOOLS TEACHER ORGANISATIONS AND UNIONS RELEVANT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS

ENQUIRIES: Tel : 011 355 0781 Fax : 011 355 0590 e-mail: renske.pieterse@gau teng.gov.za

GAUTENG DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DIRECTORATE: EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT

EXAMINATION INSTRUCTION No. 05 of 2011

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MEMO

TO : District Directors Head Office Curriculum Coordinators District FET Curriculum Advisors Principals of Secondary schools

FROM : Prem Govender Director: Examination and Assessment

DATE : 26 January 2011

SUBJECT : Provincial Coordinators Consolidated SBA Reports for 2010 for Grade 12

INTRODUCTION A Revised Moderation model and the existence of Teacher Moderators were introduced in 2010 in Gauteng. During the year samples of learners’ assessment tasks were moderated and feedback was given to schools , District Subject Advisors and Provincial Subject Coordinators. The advantages of the revised model :

• Support was provided during the year and not at the end of the year to schools. Challenges were picked up earlier and SBA delivery was improved.

• All schools and all subjects were moderated. • Subject specialists in schools supported other colleagues in the district.

This process served to assess and validate the reliability of the compulsory internal SBA component for grade 12 that constitutes 25% of the final mark for all subjects offered except Life Orientation where the SBA mark constitutes 100% of the final mark.

SBA moderation: Provincial Coordinators consolidate d SBA reports Attached are the 2010 Grade 12 SBA consolidated reports on SBA completion as compiled by the Provincial Coordinators. These reports serve as an important source of information to all FET District Advisors, Provincial Teacher Moderators and Grade 12 teachers. The observations and recommendations from these reports must be considered when drawing up improvement plans for grade 12 SBA implementation for 2011. The problems identified in each subject in 2010 during the moderation should not be repeated in 2011. It is therefore, the responsibility of District Directors and school Principals to ensure that careful planning of curriculum and assessment activities take place prior to the conducting of any

Enq: Renske Pieterse Tel: 011 355 0781

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SBA activities. Effective monitoring of and support to all subjects by District Subject Advisors is, therefore, a priority. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR 2011 School principals should be aware of the requirements for the NCS SBA of 2011. The effective mediation of the Subject Assessment Guidelines is crucial to the compliance and delivery of School-Based Assessment. Principals must ensure that all FET educators are familiar with the content of the Subject Assessment Guidelines. QUALITY ASSURANCE Since SBA forms an integral part of the final National Senior Certificate results, Principals of schools must ensure that Grade 12 SBA marks are declared valid and reliable, before any provincial moderation by Provincial Teacher Moderators or external moderation by UMALUSI is conducted. It is therefore important for every school to have a School Assessment Team that manages and controls all SBA activities from the beginning of the Grade 12 year. School-Based Moderation has to be conducted at least once per term for every subject. School Subject Heads must ensure that the school’s SBA programme complies with Provincial/National guidelines. NON-COMPLIANCE AND DISHONESTY Acts of non-compliance or dishonesty will be viewed in a serious light. The school principal, in accordance with the disciplinary steps outlined in the South African Schools Act, must deal with learners who are suspected of plagiarism. Educators suspected of cheating and submitting marks of learners that are not authentic may face charges of misconduct. It is therefore important that learners, their parents, and educators understand the seriousness of compliance with SBA policy. Principals need to ensure that the school has a fully functional School Assessment Irregularity Committee (SAIC). CONCLUSION SBA improvement over the years, as reflected in the reports by the Provincial Coordinators , is indeed encouraging and praiseworthy. Those who have contributed to the success of SBA thus far are complimented and encouraged to do better in 2011. At the same time those who have not complied must see the urgent need to do so. Yours in Education ____________________________________________ Prem Govender Director: Examinations & Assessment Date:

Making education a societal priority

Office of the Director: Examinations & Assessment

12th Floor, 111 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg 2001 P.O. Box 7710, Johannesburg, 2000 Tel: (011) 355 0588 Fax: (0 11) 355 0622

Email: premg@gpg.gov.za Website: www.education.gpg.gov.za

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Index

No Subject Page number

1 Art Subjects : Dance Studies, Music, Dramatic Art s, Visual Arts and Design

5

2 Accounting 7 3 Business Studies 9 4 Civil Technology 11 5 Computer Application Technology / Information

Technology 12

6 Economics 14 7 Engineering Graphics and Design 16 8 Electrical Technology 17 9 History and Geography 19

10 Languages 21 11 Life Orientation 23 12 Life Sciences and Agricultural Sciences 25 13 Mathematics 27 14 Mathematical Literacy 29 15 Mechanical Technology 30 16 Physical Science 31 17 Service Subjects: Tourism, Consumer Studies and

Hospitality Studies 32

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Provincial Coordinator’s Consolidated Moderation Re port 2010

Subject : Art Subjects: Dance Studies, Music, Dr amatic Arts, Visual Arts and Design Provincial Coordinator : Cathy Gibbons

Findings

• It was reported by all Teacher Moderators that the experience was beneficial to both the

moderator and the teacher. • There were no instances reported where the moderator felt uncomfortable dealing directly with

a fellow teacher • Teachers welcomed the assistance given by the Teacher Moderator • Many schools that feel alienated were visited and welcomed the opportunity

Challenges Dance Studies : • Generally there is a problem with the calculation of marks and the transfer of marks to the

various mark sheets • Schools are not doing a PAT per term and often have to complete all at one particular time. • The Choreography component, with the Production element was omitted in a number of

schools. The choreography was then done during the Practical examination. • This subject has a practical and theory component; unfortunately the balance is not adhered

to and this compromises the subject. • The poorly performing schools need to be sufficiently resourced with adequate teachers. Music : • Requires help in particular with Harmony and Composition. • Some problems were experienced with marks filled in but no evidence of marking. Dramatic Arts : • At each practical examination the practical aspects were moderated by the panel of

examiners. No particular issue had been reported. Visual Arts :

• Inability/confusion to complete the required mark sheets. • Teachers do not differentiate between Practical; SBA; PAT etc. • Many schools did not do the theory examinations. • Teachers were unable to provide marking memos. • Total lack of pre-moderation of tasks.

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Design : • In certain cases the tonal drawing is neglected. • Moderators all commented on the general acceptance of the teacher of the support and

assistance provided. • The theory components need to be addressed. • Teachers should be vigilant when completing the mark sheets as many inaccurate

calculations were seen. • In this subject plagiarism should be noted and addressed. Schools should make use of

the SAIC to address these irregularities. Generally • No evidence of school-based moderation. • Inadequate completion of and transfer of marks by the teacher. • Inconsistent marking of practical component by teachers when compared to the mark

allocated by the practical examiners. • Examinations focused on theory and in some instances no practical examinations were

conducted in June and during Preliminary examinations. • The preliminary examinations set by the teachers are based only on the work covered by the

teacher and not on the whole curriculum as per policy. There is also little cognizance of low, medium and higher order questioning and the papers are unbalanced in this respect.

• Schools should ensure that they contact their respective teacher moderators allocated to their schools as problems were encountered in communication.

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Subject : Accounting Provincial Coordinator : Bongi Nxumalo

Findings

• About 98% of the schools used the exemplar tasks provided in the SBA guidelines by the

province. This made moderation very easy. • Some districts continued with the subject forums meetings where they developed and

assisted each other in the absence of cluster meetings. • There were few problems with missing marks. • Teachers’ assessment files were more organized. • Schools followed the guidelines for the completion of SBA in the SAG. • The majority of schools used computerized working mark sheets and they were all correctly

calculated. • There was a correlation between mark lists and learner tasks that were marked. • Subject advisors together with Teacher Moderators have done a good job of the moderation

process.

Challenges • Some schools are still submitting tasks late and not according to the district management

plan. • About 90% of our SBA tasks are supposed to be done under supervision, but it is evident

that some schools still give SBAs to learners to do at home at their own pace and time. This results in a discrepancy in the marks obtained for SBAs and the marks learners obtained in an independent examinations.

• In some schools learners are given memorandums to copy answers from which is an irregularity.

• Calculation errors did occur. • Some schools submitted teacher’s files with other staff which have nothing to do with SBA’s. • Mark allocation of learner tasks were not clearly shown. • We still have schools who did not submit question papers and memorandums with the

test/tasks. • There is still a challenge with school-based moderation. • Some HODs still struggle to do school moderation, their knowledge of the subject is not

sufficient enough for them to conduct school moderation. • Moderation started late which impacted on the quality and amount of guidance given to

teachers. • A few schools did not submit working mark sheets which made the checking of mark

correlation very difficult.

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Recommendations • Clear time frames should be set and extended opportunities given where learners still

struggle to complete tasks on time. SMT should get involved and assisting teachers. • In the HOD training a guideline must be given to ensure that the subject is moderated at

school level accordingly as many HODs do not know the content. HODs must be held accountable for non-moderation.

• SMT to check working mark sheets thoroughly to avoid blatant calculation errors. • Schools with better results should be paired with schools facing challenges to coach and

mentor them by subject advisors.

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Subject : Business Studies Provincial Coordinator : Nathalie Winter

Findings

• The use of the provincial SBA Guideline has facilitated the ease of moderation by the

numerous Teacher Moderators across the province.

Challenges and Recommendations

Challenges Recommendations School-Based Moderation is superficial, lack in depth and lack quality. The HOD follows the ticks of the teachers.

Subject Advisors are to mediate the SBA Guidelines, clearly indicating when to assign what mark on the rubric. This is to be conducted with all the teachers in the district, as well as the teacher moderators. This is to ensure that there is a common understanding of the use of rubrics across districts and across the province

Where tests and examinations are set internally, there is no thorough pre-moderation by the HOD

All HODs’ to be trained on the pre-moderation of internal tests and examinations. Tools to be made available to them if they are not available

• Teachers are not exposing learners to the LASO technique in the formal tests and examination

• The format of the internally set papers are not according to the correct format as per Examination Guideline for Business Studies 2009

The Examination Guideline is to be mediated in 2011 again, by the Subject Advisor. The mediation session is to include the LASO, and its application to Section C type questions. The format of the paper, from grade 10 is to be discussed as well.

Incorrect calculations and transfers to the working mark sheet

Implementation of the SAIC to ensure that all SBA requirements are met at school level (Circular 73/2008). Teachers need to be vigilant when working with the calculations and transfer of marks, to eliminate errors.

No supporting documents for learners with a zero mark for a task/ Gaps in the working mark sheets

Implementation of the SAIC to ensure that all SBA requirements are met at school level (Circular 73/2008)

Tasks are not dated. The learner should date the task on completion and the teacher should date the task when assessed(marked). Teacher Moderators should date when moderation is done.

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• Use of Rubric still problematic in some schools

• In appropriate use of rubric in research presentation and no evidence of marking of the task except one ‘big’ tick cutting across the exercise

The District Subject Advisor is to prioritize the mediation on the use of rubrics in the first term of 2011, a demonstration of how to use the rubric is to be conducted in all districts

The teacher has set her test/ midyear preliminary examination, without a marking memo for the test/ midyear or preliminary examination

All formal tasks must have a memorandum, for marking the learners tasks, and for moderation by the HOD or Subject Head, and the Teacher Moderator. Tasks will not be moderated without a memorandum.

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Subject : Civil Technology Provincial Coordinator : Louis Grobler

Findings

• At many schools excellent work was found and most of the teachers did excellent work. • The Provincial SBAs for Grade 10-12 assisted teachers in completing the content of civil

technology to be covered during the year. By completing the SBA learners had already completed a certain percentage of the content prescribed.

• The quality of SBAs in Gauteng schools has improved. • The content knowledge of Civil Technology teachers is improving.

Challenges

• Teachers do not submit tasks in an orderly manner. This makes it difficult to match the

relevant tasks to the mark sheets. • Some teachers are not familiar with the SBA and PAT guidelines. • School- Based Moderation done by an HOD or subject head is not done. • Teachers are not qualified assessors. • Schools do not follow-up on learners who do not submit tasks. • Some principals do not distribute exam memos and circulars timeously to all staff

members. Teachers also use this as a convenient excuse. • Tasks are not marked within the stipulated guideline of 7days. • Working mark sheets are not always available. • Some teachers have no support at school as they are the only expert in the subject.

Recommendations

• Principals should have a register where staff signs for important memos and circulars. • Teachers should adhere to the Provincial Management Plans and Circulars. • Teachers should not only concentrate on Grade 12 learners but should spend enough

time on teaching Grade 10-11 as per NCS policy.

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Subject : Computer Applications Technology / Inf ormation Technology Provincial Coordinator : Mohamed Ally

Findings

• Standard of tasks and test has improved. • Many teachers have asked for assistance since the scrapping of cluster meetings. • Fewer problems with missing marks. • Teachers’ assessment files were more organized. • Many schools submitted electronic copies for moderation

Challenges • Schools are still submitting tasks late and not according to the district management plan. • In certain schools there was evidence that learners were not guided by teachers hence the

poor performance. • Marks differ on mark sheets when compared to learners’ tasks. • Calculation errors occurs • No indication on final totals on task/test. No proper indication on practical memos as to where

marks have been allocated. • The teacher file and learner SBA task were arranged in such a manner which made it difficult

to moderate. • Electronic folders submitted were not clearly marked with appropriate file names. This made

it difficult to place the correct task to the corresponding correct marks on the mark sheet. • Mark allocation on learner tasks not clearly shown. Indicate clearly if the solution is not

correct. • Some schools handed in PAT tasks for moderation instead of SBA tasks. • Some schools did submit question papers and memorandums with the test/tasks. • Some schools still did not conduct school moderation. • Teachers are still setting test/tasks that are not according to the different levels of

assessment. • There still learners with zero marks. • Some teachers indicated that their learner’ work was affected by viruses and technical

problems. • Pre-moderation by subject advisors was a problem as they had too many schools to pre-

moderate. • Moderation started late which impacted on the quality and amount of guidance given to

teachers. • Tasks involving Access, Excel and Integration is still a problem for teachers.

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Recommendations • Clear time frames should be set and extended opportunities given where learners still

struggle to complete tasks on time. SMT should get involved and assisting teachers. • Teachers to make regular backups of learners’ tasks and tests so that work is not lost due to

viruses and technical problems. • In the HOD training a guideline must be given to ensure that the CAT/IT subject is moderated

at school level accordingly as many HODs do not know the content. HODs must be held accountable for non-moderation.

• SMT to check working mark sheets thoroughly to avoid blatant calculation errors. • An antivirus program must be installed on all computers • Schools with better results should be paired with schools facing challenges to coach and

mentor by subject advisors.

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Subject : Economics Provincial Coordinator : NJ Winter

Findings

• All District completed the final moderation process schools in all schools. • The use of the provincial SBA Guideline has facilitated the ease of moderation by the

numerous Teacher Moderators across the province. • Feedback to educators and learners must be encouraged. • Internal moderators should ensure that moderation is conducted on each test before it is

administered to learners.

Challenges and Recommendations

Challenges Recommendations School-Based Moderation is superficial, lack in depth and lack quality. The HOD follows the ticks of the teachers.

Subject Advisors are to mediate the SBA Guidelines, clearly indicating when to assign what mark on the rubric. This is to be conducted with all the teachers in the district, as well as the teacher moderators. This is to ensure that there is a common understanding of the use of rubrics across districts and across the province

Where tests and examinations are set internally, there is no thorough pre-moderation by the HOD.

All HODs’ to be trained on the pre-moderation of internal tests and examinations. Tools to be made available to them if they are not available.

The format of the internally set paper are not based on the correct format as per Economics Examination Guideline 2009

Format of the paper, and the levels of Blooms Taxonomy to be prioritized by the district subject advisor. The amended format of the paper to be mediated as early as possible to all Economics Educators, to be followed for all formal tests and Examinations in 2011.

Incorrect use of Interpretation Grid to mark questions in Section C

Advocacy of the interpretation grid to start early in the year, and implementation should start in Grade 10, not only in Grade 12

• In appropriate use of rubrics and marking of task is not done according to the rubric (Lack of effective application of the rubrics).

• Not all the blocks of the rubric are completed, but a mark is given that does not correspond with the mark

Mediation on the use of rubrics to be prioritized in 2011, by the district subject advisor. Educators are to implement the correct use of the rubric in 2011, and will be asked to remark tasks that are incorrectly assessed.

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• Teachers should ensure that no learner has a zero mark for the entire SBA component

allocation on the rubric.

Content of the project is on housing as a socio-economic issue, but high marks are allocated to learner’s who are off the topic, e.g. addressing poverty as a socio-economic issue.

Learners should be encouraged to answer the question; more guidelines are to be given in the SBA guideline for 2011. Mediation on the content of the SBA guideline should be prioritized by the district subject advisor.

Incorrect Calculations and transfers to the working mark sheet

Implementation of the SAIC to ensure that all SBA requirements are met at school level (Circular 73/2008). Teachers need to be vigilant when working with the calculations and transfer of marks, to eliminate errors.

No supporting documents for learners with a zero mark for a task/ Gaps in the working mark sheets.

Implementation of the SAIC to ensure that all SBA requirements are met at school level (Circular 73/2008).

Umalusi found that there was a lack of feedback to learners on the tasks that were completed.

Additional space has been made available on the cover sheet, to assist educators in giving feed back to learners. Sample feedback comments to be distributed in 2011 for educators to use.

Tasks are not dated. The learner should date the task on completion and the teacher should date the task when assessed(marked). Teacher Moderators should date when moderation is done.

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Subject : Engineering Graphics & Design (EGD) Provincial Coordinator : Sarel de Bruin

Findings

• Most of the schools that performed well in 2009 were compliant with the all the SBA requirements and all the tasks were generally well done..

• In many schools more than one task was used to obtain the recorded mark. This ensured that the marks were more representative of each learner’s acquired knowledge and skills.

• Many teachers gave the learners a copy of the correct answer/memorandum of the task after the completion of the task.

• The 2010 SBA document was correctly implemented and all the provided tools were used to good effect.

Challenges

• At many schools, including better performing schools, there was no evidence of any internal (school-based) moderation.

• In some schools there was inconsistency in the way in which the tasks were assessed and there was a lack of quality in the assessment.

• At some schools the required memoranda and/or model answers were not available and they were therefore, not used when assessing the specific tasks.

• At a few schools there were many, learners who did not have an EGD file. • Many of the learners’ files were not according to the prescribed sequence. • At many schools, although the work was completed, the mark sheets were not kept up to

date. • Teacher and/or learner files were never available at some schools , even though schools

were informed of all the scheduled visits. • Some of the ‘poorly performing’ schools of 2009 still did not comply with the all requirements

while others did the absolute minimum. • It was also found that the quality of the tasks at many of the ‘poorly performing’ schools were

not of the required standard. • Some of the ‘poorly performing’ school did not complete all the prescribed content topics or

SBA due to the strike/mass action by their teachers

Recommendation

• Each school’s HOD or subject head for EGD must be trained by the EGD Subject Advisors on all the requirements for EGD.

• During the first visit to a school, the EGD Subject Advisors must ensure that all the EGD teachers have a clear understanding of all the SBA requirements and of the correct implementation and management of all aspects of the subject.

• The EGD teacher(s) must be present during each school visit/moderation session so that ‘challenges identified’ can be corrected immediately and, if required, intervention can be done.

• The EGD Subject Advisors must be vigilant that all aspects of the subject are correctly implemented.

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Subject : Electrical Technology Provincial Coordinator : Chris Gryffenberg

Findings

• Moderators found that the majority of the assessment tasks were conducted with a high degree of credibility, and that learners showed individual effort.

• The majority of teachers however showed evidence on how the tasks were handed out throughout the academic year, showing dates and details related to completion, assessment and correction.

• Due to standardized tasks being used, a good sense of the quality of teaching and learning was achieved throughout the province.

• Teachers that assessed immediately following the completion of the assessment task achieved a higher level of credibility in the assessment. This is due to the relevance of the task to the recent completion of the relevant topics as dealt with by the teacher. Teachers that followed this practice expressed lower levels of frustration with their workload as a direct result of work having been completed.

• Electrical technology teachers exhibit a high level of integrity and in all cases where there was negligence in terms of marking, teachers immediately put in additional effort and completed all the required assessments

Challenges • In few cases non compliance was however evident, and in these instances interventions

were made to ensure that tasks were assessed reliably and fairly. • The greatest challenge for the SBA moderation process lie in the impact that was felt

during the second round of moderation, specifically due to the non-completion of tasks as well as non-compliance on the part of the teachers in terms of assessing the tasks.

• In a few instances teachers left marking of 1st term until September. This led to high levels of stress as the industrial action also impacted on their delivery. Such teachers became despondent and were slow to react to the call for the submission of tasks to be moderated..

• Some teachers fail to give a tick for every mark that is given

Recommendations • Teachers should remember to award a tick for every mark awarded. The tick should be

applied at the point of impact. In this manner the exact phrase, point or fact will be assessed and the tick will be an indication of what the mark was awarded to

• Teachers should pay attention to the correct drawing of circuit symbols and labels to these symbols. Learners are not proficient in the drawing of circuit diagrams.

• Teachers should ensure that enough repetition is conducted in simulations and testing before allowing the learner to engage in a formal assessment task. Some learners conducted their formal assessment the very first time they engaged in the set of skills that were being developed.

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• It is recommended that tasks be assessed within the same week that they were administered. The workload may be high at the time, but it pales in comparison to the strain experienced at the end of the year when learners have to be hunted down to finalise their work.

• Teachers that actively participate in departmental subject programs in Electrical Technology will see an improvement in their results as the completion of SBA tasks in 2011 is easily achievable.

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Subject : HHiissttoorryy aanndd GGeeooggrraapphhyy Provincial Coordinators : Portia January

Findings

• Most schools used the exemplar tasks provided in the SBA guidelines. This made moderation

very easy. • Many teachers have asked for assistance since the discontinuation of cluster meetings • Fewer problems were experience with missing marks. • Teachers’ assessment files were more organised. • Majority of all schools that were moderated had all tasks done according to SAG. • Mark sheets were included in most Teacher files. • There was a correlation between mark lists and learner tasks that were marked. • The use of rubrics was evident in majority of schools. • Teacher moderators have done a good job of the moderation process.

Challenges

• In certain schools there was evidence that learners were guided by teachers hence the excellent performance in certain tasks and the similar answers to tasks by learners.

• Marks were not correctly transferred from learners work to working mark sheets to computerized mark sheets. Marks differ on mark sheets when compared to learners tasks.

• There are a lot of calculation errors; • No indication on final totals on task/test. • The teacher file and learner SBA task were arranged in such manner which it made it difficult

to moderate. • Mark allocation on learner tasks not clearly shown. • Some schools did not submit question papers and memoranda with the test/tasks • Some schools still did not conduct school moderation. • Teachers are still setting test/tasks that are not according to the different taxonomy levels. • Moderation started late which impacted on the quality of guidance given to teachers. • A few schools did not submit working mark sheets which made the checking of mark

correlation very difficult.

Recommendations • Clear time frames should be set and extended opportunities given where learners still struggle

to complete task on time. SMTs at schools must get involved in assisting teachers. • Regular Subject Information Meetings should be held to alleviate the problems encountered. • Learners should be discouraged from using black ink, they must use blue pens. • The management plan for moderation should allow enough time for educators to correct

mistakes and resubmit. • In the HOD training, a guideline must be given to ensure that Geography and History will be

moderated at school level , as many HODs do not know the content.

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• HODs must be held accountable for non-moderation. • SMTs to check working mark sheets thoroughly to avoid blatant calculation errors. • Schools with better results should be paired with schools facing challenges to coach and

mentor them by subject advisors .

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Subject : Languages Provincial Coordinators : Nandipha Nonkwelo and Ked ike Babupi

Findings

• The new SBA model enables district subject facilitators to conduct more intensive SBA

moderation which was not possible with cluster moderation. • The majority of schools is compliant with SBA guidelines and adheres to time frames in

accordance with the management plans. • All schools have done the recording of marks according to the Assessment Guidelines, and on

the correct mark sheets. • Marking is in line with provincial standards. • Teachers use appropriate rubrics. • Recording and weighting is done accurately. • Internal school moderation is done. • Process-writing, planning and editing are improving. • Assessment has become more interactive and developmental. • In general, teachers are less stressed about compiling portfolios, and are focusing more on

teaching. • Most districts continue holding subject meetings to ensure that educators implement

curriculum policy correctly and that assessment is of a high quality. Meetings were not seen as a waste of time as quality information could be given. However not all grade educators attend the meetings as they just send one representative per school.

Oral Assessment and Moderation

• There is greater compliance in scoring oral tasks according to approved rubrics and learner

evidence is included. • Mark sheets were submitted on time. • There is also improvement in the completion of working mark sheets. However, statistics

sheets are still not being completed by all schools. • The average pass mark for 2009 was not available to all schools and in some schools this

mark is inaccurate. • Despite the pending strike and the go slow of all educators, all schools were moderated. • Schools complied very well with moderation procedures. • The schools prepared the venues well in advance and all the learners were well prepared for

the moderation session. • The schools created enjoyable sessions for the oral assessment and the learners no longer

dread this aspect in the curriculum. • School-based oral moderation was thoroughly done by HODs or Subject Heads.

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Challenges

• A number of educators still need assistance in the interpretation of the rubrics and allocation

of marks for creative writing pieces. • Application of Barretts’ taxonomy in assessment is still a problem, especially in the setting of

higher level questions such as evaluation of values and themes in texts. • In Grade 10 and 11 the quality of tasks and assessment is still a challenge at many schools.

There is no effective monitoring of these grades by the SMT. • It still seems that quite a few schools do not know how to assess the oral response to

literature. This aspect is still assessed as a written task instead of an oral task. A few schools still had written responses, such as diary entries, mind maps and letters.

• Learners are not always taught how to read properly or how to deliver a speech correctly. It seems that educators give learners topics and instructions without demonstrating or modeling how to present a speech or how to read properly.

• Only one educator per school attends subject meetings thus information is not always spread to all educators in the school.

• A number of educators do not mark the SBA tasks during the term. Instead marking is done during the holidays. Consequently school-based moderation does not take place in time and this makes it impossible for the Subject Advisor and teacher moderators to moderate according to the district management plan.

Recommendations

• Educators who need support on the interpretation of rubrics and assessment of creative

writing pieces should be supported in order to standardise marking. • Educators should undergo intensive training in setting qualitative question papers and formal

tests with the focus on Barretts’ taxonomy. • Schools with problems regarding portfolio requirements will be monitored and supported at

least twice a month to ensure effective curriculum delivery and to prevent irregularities in SBA. • Principals and HODs should monitor the implementation of SBA to ensure that good quality

tasks and assessment is conducted in all grades. • Schools should experiment with various oral presentation skills instead of focusing on written

texts. Learners should be encouraged to use visual and audio-visual material to support presentations.

• Each grade educator should attend subject meetings for their own individual professional development and to ensure that all communication reaches all relevant teachers in a particular school.

• HODs should supply educators with a moderation schedule to ensure that moderation takes place according to the district management plan.

• Educators must indicate all errors when marking. • A variety of topics for creative tasks should be used. • Instructions should be provided for all tasks including orals. • All tasks must be moderated before being given to learners(pre-moderation). • If learners are using workbooks to write SBA tasks, formal tasks should be separated from

informal activities to make it easy to distinguish between these tasks during moderation.

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Subject : Life Orientation Provincial Coordinators : Dr K. Perumal

Findings

• Most educator files were well-organized, neat and appropriately divided. • Quality marking has taken place throughout, with constructive feedback given to learners. • In some schools PET was well planned and well executed. • Constructive feedback was given by internal/school moderators and teacher moderators. • Learners responded in a meaningful way to the tasks. A number of well-researched and well

presented tasks were observed. • The Umalusi moderator was very pleased with the district common papers. The question

papers met all the cognitive levels and was of a very good standard. • It was very encouraging to note that teachers made an effort to use positive, developmental

comments to the learners. • Learners with low/ “0” marks were identified and expanded opportunities were given.

Challenges

• Calculations on working mark sheets and the transfer to computerized mark sheets is a very serious problem. The files sent for National and Umalusi moderation had 60% of the mark sheets incorrectly totaled and 20% with incorrect transfer of marks.

• Lesson planning for PET remains a challenge for many schools. • The calculation of PET is a major problem. • In a number of schools there was evidence of PET activities. • A few schools did not have PET work sheets, and no PET evidence in both the educator’s

and learners’ files. • PET face moderation must be done by the school HOD once per educator per year. • Global marking should not be done. • Exam paper C: weighting for section C must be the same. • In a number of schools educators may have been lenient during marking, learners being

given credit for responses which did not warrant credit. • Cases have been picked up where marks had been given without the completion of the

rubric. Lack of consistency while using the rubric had also been observed. • In some cases the mark sheets were incomplete, with marks for tasks outstanding. • A school was found that did not use the provincial mark sheet. • It was picked up that in some cases; marks were incorrect after having been moderated by

three levels of moderators; school; district and provincial.

Recommendations • Facilitator to identify schools with challenges and to develop an intervention strategy to

address issues of concern. • PET training to be provided to all schools.

Page 24 of 32 pages

• Ensure reliability and common understanding of rubrics (Tasks 1 and 2). • Physical Education : Re-training on completion of Phys Ed mark sheets and common practices/understanding on the number of participation contact sessions and skills assessments required per term, the use of the conversion table for participation, the use of marks or symbols for skills component and calculation of final skills mark. • Adjustment of Marks

Teacher Moderators must be cautious of adjusting PET marks. If the PET marks are too high a face moderation must take place to verify the candidates mark. Only after face moderation has taken place can any adjustment take place. If NO face moderation has taken place there can be no adjustment to PET marks.

Page 25 of 32 pages

Subject : Life Sciences & Agricultural Sciences Provincial Coordinator : Susan Wiese

Findings

• Most schools used the exemplar tasks provided in the SBA guidelines. This made moderation

very easy. • Teachers’ assessment files were more organized. • The majority of all schools that were moderated had all tasks done according to SAG. • Mark sheets were included in most Teacher files. • In some schools there was a correlation between the working mark sheets and learner tasks. • The use of rubrics was evident in the majority of schools. • Teacher moderators have done a good job of the moderation process.

Challenges • Some schools are still submitting tasks late and not according to the district management

plan. • In certain schools there was evidence that learners were guided by teachers hence the

outstanding performance in certain tasks and the similar answers to tasks by learners. • Calculation errors occurred. • Mark allocation on learner tasks was not clearly shown. • Some schools did not submit question papers and memoranda with the test/tasks • Some schools still did not conduct school-based moderation. (Evidence of moderation was not

available). • Teachers are still setting test/tasks that are not according to the different taxonomy levels. • Moderation started late which impacted on the quality of guidance given to teachers. • A few schools did not submit working mark sheets which made the checking of the mark

correlation very difficult. • Some schools did not set tests according to prescribed criteria and levels. • Tasks were not dated. • Minor mistakes were observed by district moderators, e.g. the rounding off to one decimal.

Recommendation • Clear time frames should be set and extended opportunities given where learners still struggle

to complete tasks on time. SMT should get involved in assisting teachers. • Regular Subject Information Forums should be held to alleviate the problems encountered. • Learners should be discouraged from using black ink. It creates a problem when internal moderation is verified. • The management plan for moderation should allow enough time for educators to correct

mistakes and resubmit.

Page 26 of 32 pages

• The three levels of moderation must still be adhered to (Teachers need to keep all evidence of moderation).

• In the HOD training a guideline must be given to ensure that Life Sciences and Agricultural Sciences are moderated at school level as many HODs do not know the content of the subjects. HODs must be held accountable for instances of non-moderation.

• SMTs to verify working mark sheets thoroughly to avoid blatant calculation errors. • Schools with better results should be paired by subject advisors with schools facing

challenges, to coach and mentor them. • In future, the moderation of Agricultural Sciences will be managed in totality by the Provincial

Coordinator, to ensure an even distribution of the workload.

Page 27 of 32 pages

Subject : Mathematics Provincial Coordinator : Stephen Tebeila

Findings

• All schools completed the required number of tasks. • Schools have complied with the SBA requirements. • All teacher files were well-organized and neatly presented by majority of the schools. • Marking was done consistently in most schools. • Marking by the educators of a good standard. There was no change in the learners’ marks

after the moderation process. • Marks were accurately converted, transferred and recorded.. • There is evidence of school/internal moderation. • Marks were correctly weighted as prescribed in the SAG.

Challenges

• Learners were not given expanded opportunities. • Conversions are not indicated on learners’ tasks. • Marking is too lenient. No follow-on learners’ working when marking. • Some tasks were included without appropriate memos. • There were some errors in the memoranda. Incomplete memos were submitted • Mark sheets were not aligned to the SAG. • Instructions concerning the use of units were not clear. • Allocation of marks on memo not indicated in some cases, no ticks on memo. • Some teachers included more than one working mark sheets which made it difficult to identify

the appropriate one. • Use educators exemplars and old question papers without any adaptation. • Late submission and incomplete work: in some cases learners’ work task were not marked. • Global marking was used : one tick for more than one mark. • There are certain schools that will have to be encouraged to complete computer generated

mark sheets. Names in these schools were not arranged alphabetically on the mark sheets

Recommendations • Cognitive levels should be considered when SBA tasks are developed. A grid showing the

classification of each question should be enclosed with the task. • Learners with very poor results/marks including zero (0) should be given expanded

opportunities. • Dates on tasks and learners’ work as well as that on which the task has been marked should

be clearly visible.

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• Question Papers for tests and examinations should be moderated and approved (pre-moderation) before learners attempt the tasks to ensure all LOs were covered and that the questions are pitched at appropriate levels.

• Correct titles for tasks, for example, project, assignment, etc. should be used. • After marking, marks should be added up twice for accuracy. • Electronic copies of mark sheets for grade 10 to 12 could be provided to schools in 2011. • A recommended assessment plan for completion of SBA tasks and an internal moderation

plan will be designed and given to all schools • Where possible, every mark should be explained and necessary follow-ups be done.

Page 29 of 32 pages

Subject : Mathematical Literacy Provincial Coordinator : Stephen Tebeila

Findings

• All schools completed the required number of tasks. • All teacher files were well organized and neatly presented by majority of the schools. • Marking was done consistently in most schools. • Marking by the educators is of a good standard. There was no change in the learners’ marks

after the moderation process. • Schools have complied with the SBA requirements. • Marks were accurately converted, transferred and recorded. • There is evidence of school/internal moderation. • Marks were correctly weighted as prescribed in the SAG.

Challenges

• Programme of Assessment not complete/ some cases not included. • Learners were not given expanded opportunities. • Conversions were not indicated on learners’ tasks. • Marking that is too lenient. No follow on learners’ working when marking. • Some tasks included without the appropriate memos. • There were some errors in memoranda. Incomplete memos were submitted • Working mark sheets were not aligned according to SAG. • Instructions concerning the use of units were not clear. • Allocation of marks on memo not indicated in some cases, no ticks on memo. • Some teachers included more than one working mark sheet which made it difficult to identify

the appropriate one. • June Paper 1 & 2 were set on the same level. • Use educators exemplars and old question papers without any adaption. • Late submission and incomplete work: in some cases learners’ tasks were not marked. • There are certain schools that will have to be encouraged to complete computer generated

mark sheet. Names were not arranged alphabetically on the mark sheets in these schools.

Recommendations

• Cognitive levels should be considered when SBA tasks are developed. A grid showing the classification of each question should be enclosed with the task.

• Learners with very poor results/marks including zero (0) should be given a second chance. • Dates on tasks and learners work as well as that on which the task has been marked should

be clearly visible. • Electronic copies of mark sheets for Grade 10 to 12 could be provided to schools in 2011. • A recommended assessment plan for completion of SBA tasks and an internal moderation

plan will be designed and given to all schools.

Page 30 of 32 pages

Subject : Mechanical Technology Provincial Coordinator : P. A. Bosman

Findings

• Most schools adhered to the SBA guidelines

Challenges • Difficulty in finding all relevant tasks and mark sheets. • Tasks were not marked within 7 days as per guideline. • Mark sheets were not always available. • Learners tasks submitted in disorganized way. • Some teachers are not familiar with SBA and PAT guidelines. • HOD’s are often not involved with moderation if it is not his/her field of expertise. • SAT’s are not functioning at most schools. • Some teachers do not follow-up on learners not submitting tasks.

Recommendations • In service training/ workshops to be done on moderation principles with all SMTs. • Principals should have register were staff signs for important memos and circulars

Page 31 of 32 pages

Subject : Physical Sciences Provincial Coordinator : Thabiso Ndaba

Findings

• SBA tasks were completed and moderated successfully in most schools. • Teacher moderators conducted the moderation successfully despite the unfriendly

timeframes due the FIFA world cup and strike action. • The quality of SBA tasks was reported to be of good standard in many schools. • There is evidence that the subject heads (HODs) are conducting school- based

moderation.

Challenges

• Learners are still being taught to conduct experiments instead of Practical Investigations despite the workshops conducted to capacitate teachers on conducting practical investigations.

• Teachers experience a challenge in developing a rubric to assess a Practical Investigation and a Research Project therefore they make use of the generic exemplar rubric which is not suitable for some of the tasks.

• Some of independent schools do not comply with the SBA requirements as outlined in the SBA guideline document and there is lack of SBA submissions for moderation to teacher moderators.

• There is a continuous use of exemplar tasks and previous question papers for SBA. • Many schools do not complete the SBA tasks on time per term as required as a result

that the term results (reports) comprises either a single task or non-SBA tasks. • Teacher Moderators experienced problems where schools did not adhere to the

submission dates.

Recommendations • Moderation of SBA tasks by Teacher moderators and Subject HODs must be carried out per

term to ensure completion of relevant tasks and to ensure that non-compliance is remedied on time.

• Schools should refrain from using previous question papers and exemplar tasks for current years’ SBA. Previous question papers and memos are available on the website and therefore cannot be used for formal assessment.

Page 32 of 32 pages

Subject : Service Subjects :Tourism , Consumer St udies and Hospitality Studies

Provincial Coordinator :Cheryl Weston

Findings

• Evidence found of some schools setting very high quality tasks • Standard of tests has improved • Teachers’ assessment files were more organised.

Challenges • Poor marking practices i.e. teachers marking very leniently leads to adjustments of marks • Poor or no evidence of school moderation • Teachers not adequately preparing or not providing guidance for the completion of the tasks • Evidence of plagiarism not picked up and addressed by the school • Numerous calculation, transference and conversion errors • The open book test was poorly administered by teachers and learner performance extremely

poor. • No second attempts are provided for learners. • Absence of dates on tasks. • Absence of signature by learners. • Pre task moderation not done by the HOD / Subject Head. • School-based Moderation is superficial in many schools, evidence of shadow marking and

not remarking • Teachers are still setting test/tasks that are not according to the different levels of

assessment. • There still learners with zero marks. • Pre-moderation by subject advisors was a problem as they had too many schools to pre-

moderate. • Moderation started late which impacted on the quality of guidance given to teachers.

Recommendations • Pre-, during and post moderation should be conducted at school level • HOD’s should be held accountable for non-compliance • SMT to check working mark sheets thoroughly to avoid blatant calculation errors. • Schools with better results should be paired with schools facing challenges to coach and

mentor them by subject advisors. • Moderation to start early to have an impact on the guidance given to teachers